Dance Review: DancEUnion @ Southbank Centre

By JenT Last edited 156 months ago
Dance Review: DancEUnion @ Southbank Centre

Powerful, sentimental, comedic and silly: Tuesday saw the opening evening of DancEUnion’s 3 night celebration of great dance from across Europe at Southbank Centre.

First up was Poland's nifty little number 3D-ANCE, cleverly using a combination of dance and film, to turn a solo into a trio, but lacking in style and technique.

Irish one man band, Liv O'Donoghue produced a pleasant performance of perfect poses in her solo This Woman I Met, a soft and tender reflection on what it is to be woman with a ‘Black Swan-esque’ psychotic twist, ending on an eerie note.

The Czech Republic and Romanian offerings were equally unhinged. Choreographer Tereza Lenerova and dancer Einat Ganz (Czech Republic) gave violently characterful performances in their quirky duet Variable; an amusingly aggressive invasion of each other’s space. Whilst Romanian Madalina Dan's work, Iluzionistele, transported us to a dark cartoon world, where brightly dressed individuals interacted in a circus of movement that lacked direction.

We don't wish to ignite competition between the nations but if there was one clear winner of the evening it would be Latvia with Elina Breice's work Come With Me. Dragged by an invisible but genuine force, the duet of dancers engage in a forceful and focused struggle for power and freedom that inevitably ends with the heartbreaking realisation that those we love are not always there when we, quite literally, fall.

The final performance of DancEUnion is tonight with performers from France, Denmark, Austria, UK, Italy and Belgium. Tickets from £13.

Last Updated 17 March 2011